When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. OurPrivacy Noticeexplains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Around 300 businesspeople from the Thames Valley will swap their comfy beds for sleeping bags this week when they sleep rough in Reading’s Forbury Gardens.

They have a target of raising £1 million across the UK to help homeless young people on Byte Night on Friday.

Byte Night is the ITs industry’s way of supporting the Action for Children campaign by highlighting awareness of the numbers of Britain’s youth who survive on the street.

It was started in London in 1998 by Reading businessman Ken Deeks, but has now become a national fundraiser.

Sleep-outs are also taking place in Birmingham, Belfast, Cambridge, Edinburgh, London and Manchester.

This is the sixth anniversary of the Reading event and Mr Deeks, who lives in Tilehurst, hopes sponsorship will top £200,000.

The Thames Valley event, which is one of the most successful, last year contributed £158,000 to the national pot of £950,000 and Mr Deeks is confident this year’s Byte Night will top £1 million.

He explained: “The idea was to come up with something that represented what these young people are going through.

“Of course, we understand that what we are doing is purely symbolic. We are experiencing ‘homelessness’ for only one night, not the lack of self esteem, lack of support and the lack of love that these young people suffer.

“We are not under cover. We have to brave the elements and last year it did nothing but rain all night from 6pm till 6am. We couldn’t sleep, we were just writhing around in puddles and water was coming through our sleeping bags.

“It was great fun early on, but about 4am we were miserable, wet and cold, but at 6am when everyone began to wake up and the coffee machine got going, the feeling of camaraderie was amazing.”

Since its beginnings, the event nationally has raised £5.2 million.

Although it was originally started for people in the IT community, its success has sparked more and more interest from other industries.

And there is still time to sign up for this year’s event either as one of the sleepers or as a volunteer helping out with manning the registration desk, the cloak room, the bar and dishing out refreshments.

Go to www.bytenight.org.uk to offer help and to also to make a cash donation.